euro cruiser

Lots of info on Ostia here: Ostia - Harbour City of Ancient Rome (ostia-antica.org)

The grotto is open seven days a week, weather permitting. If the seas are rough, they will not open, it's too unsafe for both the oarmen and passengers to try and get through the entry in rough seas. Most shops will still be open, more since Covid than before. The season is stretching into November now.

You need to be at the airport three hours prior to an international flight (1:55 PM) or two hours prior to a Schengen flight (2:55 PM). There is a left luggage office at the airport, I'd be a tad skeptical of a service that takes your things away and comes back with them later, but maybe that's me. From the airport web site: Luggage storage is located in Terminal 3, International Arrivals close to door n°6. Opening hours: 7.00 a.m.-11.00 p.m. Telephone: +39 0665953541 E-mail : depositobagagliadr@adr.it The price is 10,00€ (VAT included) per luggage 24h. Payment is made upon collection of baggage. No reservation needed. link here: Baggage services - ADR Ostia Antica is a good idea. If you do as you've described and use a shuttle to the airport, then a cab from the airport to the ruins, be sure to ask the driver for his card and arrange for him to come back for you at a specific time. If for some reason he does not, you can ask the staff at the ticket office to call a cab for you, but it would be nice to only have to use that as a backup.

Part of the problem you are running into is the wide gap between expectations and reality on the ground. The Amalfi Coast has become overcrowded nearly to the point of breaking, which means that getting around by land is slow, slow, slow. As a result, overly ambitious agendas are often cut en route, disappointing travelers who arrived without a realistic set of expectations. Within the confines of a port day it simply is not possible to visit Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento (which is not on the Amalfi Coast) and have any amount of time in each place. Even the vaunted RIL cannot change the facts on the ground, but as CruiserBruce notes, they know this and won't agree to a day they cannot provide.

Note that there are two different ferry docks at Salerno. Molo Manfredi is in the same part of the port as the cruise terminal, so if you can get a ferry from there it will be easier. There are two departures that would make sense for you, at 8:20 on NLG or 8:40 on Travelmar. I would make advance reservations for these, because the cruise line will have already locked up places for their tours. If for some reason you can't get on either of these, the Concordia dock that handles most of the Travelmar ferries is an easy walk of about a mile and a half along the waterfront promenade. Travelmar schedule here: Orari traghetti Travelmar - Traghetti veloci in Costiera Amalfitana NLG here: NLG » Official website

😄 Oh no Hank! Actually, I didn't mean to suggest that the train was the best option for this group (although the OP does state that they have no problem with mobility) but as I read back my responses it does come across that way. I was focused on answering the specific question about the number of train options rather than the larger question of how to get there. I agree that if there is a shuttle offered by the cruise line, that would be the easiest routing and probably cost about the same as the train plus taxi option.

In that case I'd lean toward one of the two Italo treno options. Keep in mind that you've got quite a ride from the Ravenna train station to the cruise port. They aren't accepting reservations yet for October, wait another month and try then. You can save significantly if you purchase in advance. Also note that Ravenna apparently (based on comments here and on Trip Advisor) has a dearth of taxis so you might want to prearrange with a car service to get from the train station to the port, unless the cruise line is offering a transfer.

Is it possible that you're overnighting in Ravenna for a Friday departure? The Ravenna cruise port shows the Viva leaving on Friday at 5 PM. If that's the case, I might see about delaying my boarding until Friday, or at least find out the latest time possible on Thursday.

There are trains throughout the day, on both Trenitalia and Italotreno. Arriving by 12:00 seems early and that deadline reduces your options. Is this a self-defined deadline? If the ship doesn't depart until 5 PM, why make your travel more difficult than it needs to be? Using the noon deadline, you have two options on Italotreno, at 7:05 (arrives 10:17) and 8:05 (arrives 11:17). Both of these are high speed, seat assigned trains to Bologna followed by a regional Trenitalia train (no seat assignments) from Bologna to Ravenna. On Trenitalia you have more options, but I'm assuming you want to minimize the number of changes so if you limit it just to routes with one change there are four trains that will get you there before noon (departures at 5:40, 5:51, 6:53 and 7:40). I should note that only one of the Trenitalia departures, the 6:53, includes a seat assigned segment (Venice to Ferrara), the rest are all regionals. Italo, italian high-speed train | Book no service fee | italotreno.it EN - Trenitalia

With RC, when they say Venice the actual port is Ravenna, more than 100 south (two and a half hours driving time, slightly longer by train). If you want to spend time in Venice you'll need to factor that into your planning.

There is a recent thread on TripAdvisor where the Sicily expert (Vagabonda) addresses this question: Erice Forum - Cable Car from Trapani to Erice - Tripadvisor

For a non-native speaker your English is great! The only Polish I know is Sto Lat, from singing it every year at my best friend's birthday. I've been on three Med cruises, in July, October and November and I don't recall the weather at sea being dramatically different from on land, except one night when a storm blew through. I would be prepared for warm days, cooler evenings, and the possibility of rain. Layers are the secret, things you can add or take off, as necessary.

There is also an express train at 9:16, arriving to Rome Termini at 10:03. Most ships insist you be off by about 9:30 so they can turn it around, so I'd aim for the earlier express (Frecce) train rather than hang around town for a couple of hours. Even if your hotel in Rome isn't ready for you when you arrive, they will hold your luggage. If you're staying in a place other than a hotel, there is a left luggage office at Rome Termini, you can store your things there and pick them up later in the day when you're ready to check into your accommodations.

While you're waiting to hear from someone with experience you could try e-mailing the terminal and asking them: Company – SPEZIA & CARRARA CRUISE TERMINAL (speziacarrara.cruises)

It's just two ways to get to the same information. The Cgsse (commissione garanzia sciopero) site casts a wider net and lists strikes in all sectors, while the ministry of transport only shows transportation strikes.

They recommend a fast food type meal because you have so little time. You'll probably have the most time in Taormina, the other two days involve so much time on the road that your time in each location will be limited. I remember having good meals in Taormina in a couple of places off the main street but I don't remember the names of the places unfortunately. You almost have to get off the main street as during season it becomes a river of people. One option to consider for your Naples stop, assuming that Pompei is in the morning and Sorrento in the afternoon, is to forget about the bus or van back to the port even though you've already paid for it. Take the ferry, which will get you there in half the time (45 minutes vs. 60 - 90 by land) and be a much more pleasant journey. The other benefit is that it allows you the time to have a nice sit-down lunch in Sorrento. Note that this is only an option if you have a later departure time, the late afternoon ferry departs Sorrento at 4:25 PM and arrives to Naples at 5:15 PM. Here's my favorite restaurant in Sorrento: Sorrento Restaurant Buffalo Mozzarella Food and Drink InnBufalito

Maybe this can get you started? Few Hours Tour for Cruises’Passengers • Boat Trips from Amalfi, Salerno and Napoli Port (pasciacharter.com)

That's a tough question for me. I love, love, love Rome and would go out of my way to spend just a few hours there, but I realize that not everyone feels the same way. I don't think you said where you are coming from, if from North America the first day might be a bit of a haze for you, you lose six hours in transit and you've got three kids to deal with ... so in your case it might make sense to ease into your trip, knowing that you'll have time in Rome later. You can get to Civitavecchia by train from the airport, you take a local train to Rome Trastevere and change there for another local train to Civitavecchia.

No, there is not. The metro is not particularly useful in Rome for tourists. There is a tram to the Trastevere station but it's down now through the fall for maintenance,

No, you're right, if you want to stop and swim you need a tour boat.

Why do you need a tour boat for this? You can simply use the public ferries. Schedule here: Visit the Amalfi Coast - Travelmar Fast Ferries in Amalfi Coast

If you're staying for three days I would consider staying somewhere more central than the train station. It's not a bad area, it's just not very convenient and you'll waste a lot of time going back and forth. There is no train station at the port in Civitavecchia, when you select "Civitavecchia Porto" as a stop on the Trenitalia site it sells you the bus that runs between the port and the train station. The fare is 6 euro and you can pay on the bus (not the norm in Italy, usually you have to have a ticket before boarding a bus). Note that there are several different types of trains between Civitavecchia and Rome. The regional trains are the slowest and least expensive but also the most frequent. These regional trains do not offer seat reservations and they are often very crowded, so there's a good chance that you will stand for all or part of the hour long trip. The Civitavecchia Express train does not have seat reservations but they only sell as many tickets as there are seats. It means you will get a seat but your family may not be able to find seats together. There are a few IC (intercity) trains on this line, with these trains you get assigned seats. The fare for these trains is around the same price as the Civitavecchia Express (10 euro one way) but the price goes up as you get closer to the travel date (just like airline tickets). Finally there are also a few high speed trains. These are more expensive but they make no stops along the way and you have reserved seats. EN - Trenitalia

Trenitalia restarted the Civitavecchia Express for 2024 on April 1st and it will run through the end of October. There is one run per day from Civitavecchia departing at 9:07, it makes only two stops at Roma S. Pietro and Roma Ostiense. There is one return that departs from Ostiense at 4:30 and arrives to Civitavecchia at 5:20. This also stops to pick up passengers at S. Pietro. Only as many tickets are sold as there are seats, 718. One way tickets are 10 euro, return tickets are 15. Announcement here: Regionale di Trenitalia riparte il Civitavecchia Express - Trenitalia

The often do, but there are several variables. If your cruise visited any port outside of the Schengen area, probably not as passport control would have to be involved. It's also possible that the port agent at that port won't allow it. But it's also possible that everyone involved would say yes, so ask them (the cruise line)!

I agree with CruiserBruce that a car (or taxi) is the only way this is in any way possible. Even with a car, I have serious doubts that you could make this by 8:00. You'd be driving into the city at rush hour, I would expect this trip to require a minimum of 90 minutes. If this the end of your cruise, that would mean being off the ship with your luggage by 6:30, which is highly unlikely after a 6:00 arrival. If this is just a port day stop your odds jump up quite a lot, in that case I would think it's more possible than not, but not dramatically better than 50/50 odds.